Locomotive-boiler furnace.



.0. B. MOORE.

. LOGOMOTIVE BOILER FURNACE. APPLICATION FILED DEO.18, 191 1.

1 1 1 5,23 1 Patented M27, 1914.

BY rmsmm 'UhllTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLIE MOORE, 6F EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN ARCH COM- ??ANY, OF NE'W YORK, N. Y., A. COBFORATION OF NEW YORK.

LOCOMOTIVE-BOILEB FURNACE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented (let. 2?, H314.

ilpplication filed December 18, 1911. Serial No. 668,340.

To all r/wm '55 11141.7, (om-em:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES B. Moore, a citizen of the United States, and u resident of lzlvansl'on, Cool; county, Illinois, have invented cerlain new and useful Improvements in Locomotive-Boiler Furnaces, of which the following a specification.

invention relates to improvements in locomotive boiler furnaces and has particular reference to improvements in refractory bullies, del'lecling wells or arches for locomotive firebores.

"llhe general objects of my invention are to provide an improved refractory arch which may be easily and quickly installed in locomotive boiler fireboxes; to provide an arch which ll be comparatively light and yet of suihc strength to properlymaintnin itself in position when once placed; to provide an arch which shall be adapted for easy repair and the parts of which may be removed to ufi'ord sy access to the firebox sides and liue sheet; and to provide an arch of such cons lli'lllun but it can be readily Listed to 1. e dimensions of the firebox .i' ich it is being built.

A b'bj t of my invention is to provide an 1 i3 ro ad arch of the character herein outlined which shall be adapted for use in locomotive fireboxes that are equipped with rch subporeing or water circulating tubes.

Still Iurther objects of my invention will spocar hereinafter.

My invention consists in the several improvements, the various constructions and.

the combinations of parts hereinafter set forth and puriiculzirly pointed out in the claims. and it will be readily understood by reference to the accouipunyi' gdrawings in which I have il in a preferred form, embodies the several features of my invention, together with a structure which illustrates a slight modification of my invention.

In the drawings, which form a part of the sgecification: Figure l is a central longitudinal section of a locomotive firebox equiooed with :1 refractory arch embodying my invention in one form; Fig. 2 is a. detail horizontel section of the firebox on the line 22 of Fig. 1, showing arch in plan; Fig. 3 is a vertical truns section of the firebox on the line 3-3 oi i; Fig. l is a detail transverse sect-i Fig. 2; Fl

a, fragmentary longitudinal istrated a structure which,

c the arch on the line 4-4 of section or" a firebox showing a slightly modilied form of the invention; F 6 is a frag mentary view similar to Fig. 2 showing u top plan View of the arch as illustrated in Fig. 5; and Fig. 7 is a detail transverse section of the modified form of arch on the line 7-T of Fig. 5.

My invention may be embodied in arches of varying details of construction and l0cation in the firebox and although I have ill-ustrated my invention. as applied to the construction of a so-called front arch, it should be understood that my invention is not limited to the articular location or function of an arch 0 this character.

A. locomotive boiler firebox as shown in the drawings consists of a flue sheet :2, side sheets 3, 3, a rear sheet 4 and a crown sheet 5. The box is provided with the usual grate 6. Flues 7 lead forward from the flue sheet and the rear sheet is provided with a door or fuel opening 8. Water circulating tubes 9 extend rearwardly and upwardly from the flue sheet to the rear sheet and serve to in crease the circulation of Water between the front and rear water legs of the boiler.

A so-called front arch serves the purpose of obstructing the direct flow of the gases and products of combustion from the fuel bed to the flues and causes them to zig-zeg' back and fortlr =in the firebox, thereby not only retaining tliem vithin the firebox for sufiicient time to complete the combustion of the fuel particles before they escape through the fines, but also causing the hot gases .to distribute their heat evenly throughout substantially the Whole interior surface of the firebox and particularly throughout the len th of the crown sheet.

particular object of my invention is to L in. size y the features that v upon the ledges 11 rality of rows of of such large dimensions but that they can be readily passed through the fire door into the fireboxand further by the feature that they shall not be too heavy to be handled with ease and placed in position, and they the firebox and furtherby the feature that they shall be long enough to span from tube to tube and rest securely upon the tubes at their ends. These bricks 10 and 12 are madeof such a thickness that they have sufficient strength to carry their own weight and the arch, as I construct it, consists of a middle portion made up of a plurality of these bricks 10 placed upon the tubes parallel with and adjacent to each other and which extends from the fiue sheet rearwardly to substantially the middle of the firebox. The transverse ends of these bricks 1O are cut away on their upper sides substantiallv to half the thickness of the brick, whereby these bricks are provided with transversely projecting ledges 11 and a vertical shoulder ll and to complete the arch I provide marginal or side bricks 12 formed upon one end substantially identical with the ends of the center bricks 10; that is, they are cut aWa upon one surface substantially half the thickness of the brick thereby forming project-ing tongues 13 which are half the thickness of the brick and are adapted to rest of the bricks 10. .The end 14 of the tongue 13 is thus brought into position adjacent to the shoulder 11 of the bricks 10, and these marginal bricks extend from the center bricks to the side sheets of the firebox where they are supported by lugs or other suitable supports 15 secured upon the side sheets. The bricks 12 are substantially the same dimensions as to thickness and width as the center bricks and the arch as completed comprises a plubricks extending from side sheet to side sheet supported at the ends by the lugs 15 and at the middle portion by the tubes 9. This formation of the overlapped adjacent ends of the bricks l0 and 1:2 provides a construction by means of which the length of the individual rows of bricks can be varied and consciplently the. width of the arch a whole can be varied as. the marginal bricks can be positioned in relation to the center bricks with the ends 14, of the tongue 13 in contact with the shoulder 11 or at a distance therefrom, the only necessary feature being that the projecting tongues of the two bricks overlap suiliciently to support the marginal bricks in proper position.

l'r; lmilding arches according to my in rcntion, I first place one of the center bricks '10 upon the lower ends of the circulating tubes and adjacent to or in contact with the The cutaway portions of the ends of this'brick are on its upper side in position to receive and support the iuneri the center brick supporting the outer ends of the marginal bricks upon the side sheets. As shown in the drawings, these marginal bricks are short enough to provide a space 16 between, their inner ends 14 and the shoulders 11 of the center bricks and in order to prevent the marginal bricks from moving transversely in the firebox under ordinary conditions, I fill this opening preferably-With some kind of filler material such as sand which will not fuse and cement the bricks into a solid structure. After having placed the first row or line of bricks extend ing from side sheet to side sheet, I complete the arch by adding further transverse rows of the bricks in like manner, the center brick resting upon the tubes and-the marginal bricks resting upon the center brick and upon the lugs or brick supports provided on the side sheets. While in some instances two transverse rows of the fire bricks are suliicient to accomplish the results desired in the deflection and admixture of the box gases, it usually requires a further num; her of transverse rows of bricks and usually the arch extends rearwardl 1 to approximately the middle portion 0 the firebox.

In some instances it is desirable to provide an arch of a lighter form of construction than that which has been described, either on account of the weight of an arch of this character being too great to be properly supported by the tubes or for some other reason, and in such cases I build an arch of lighter weight, as illustrated in Figs. 5, G and 7. In this modified for-moi arch, instead of having the transverse rows of bricks placed upon the tubes adjacent to and in contact with each other, I space them apart longitudinally upon the tubes and hold themin this spaced relation by means of light cover or panel bricks 17. These panel bricks are quite thin and are adapted to rest upon and be supported by the span bricks and are provided on their under sides with projections 18 which form shoulders 15) for contact With the sides of the span bricks. I make these cover bricks of such a size that a number of them are necessary to fill in from one side sheet to the other and they not only serve to hold in spaced relation, but they also fill the space between the span bricks and thus complctc the arch. An arch formed in this manner considerably lighter than the preferred form of: arch, for although it may be necessary to make the span bricks slightly thicker in order that they may be strong o'oougl'i to carry their own weight and the weight of the cover bricks, still the arch as a whole can be considerably lightened. This modified form of arch not only provides an the span bricks arch conslrncrion by which arches may casiiv he installcd in iirchoxcs of dillcrcnt widths. but a: the covcr bricks do n t c tcnd from the uppcr suri'arc of tho span bricks to lhcir lon'cr snriacc. thcy provide {ransvirsc dcllcctinn' groovcs -20 and trans vcrsc dcricciing walls 21 on, (he nndcr surl'nco of ihc arcln which scrvcto nintcrially incrcasc he cllioicncv of thc arch in the function of dc cc ing iho products of coinluisiiion mid cncr rig he commin rling nnd iidcrniixii Beingnihdc up of small uniis or incinlicrs in archcs may he madc up or lnlrcn d'nvn \viih littic cxpcnzliinrc of lime and labor. ."inoihcadvaningjcpcrtainingihcrcto is dial ihe conniaroiivclv sinalh light marginal bricks may he crisil w rcinovcd vvhcn ivorl: is to be done upon the side ShfXts or tho fine sheet or the m bolts of the firebox nithonl :lisiin-hin; the other pifi'ts of the arch. Two other a vantages ll'lllClQlll;

in this construction of arch are that tho :irch is to a considcrablo degree flexible; that is, being composed of paris which havc small arcas of opposing contact one with anothcr, it readily adjusts itsclf to the olls oi the limbo or any niovcmentthercof which is occasioned hv vzriations of icinpcraturln and sccondi the joints formcd by ihc ovcrlapping portions. do not cczucnl lo ihc cxlcn't which runs A thc ordinary arch soon to hcconic a substantially rigid mass or structure and ihcrciorc lhc arch is not subject in tho dctcriorating cilcci doc to ilic cxpumion and conii'nclion ol' lhc lircliffli and llllllHHlHHlP. in'this form oi nrch coiislilu'lioii :or 1hr marginal bricks :1 w niov aiilc l'roio cnlr-r lirirlis,

and inward i H Elll' i'r( c lo in; iorrcd iosvard lhc ccntrr i liolircliox low-(mow;

w.lio doc t a clung ol' icinhc inlioililc noucrial will! ing lu'i l a=l)\l(Hl.- llinl my in- -nlion oilu'! :iri'angcnicnls ol' '1; iuiics and Kim? llir ari'nngmocid ol' llic lH'lvlV in llac nl' 'li can l c l'ldllllY rlmnn'cd lo ri-iopir lhcrcuilh :ind llinl lhc spcciiic (itplim: of Mir ar h can lunu-dilicd zd iulliiv uilh nl ilcporlingiron: ihc 'l'hrrcl'orc. l do nol lluinvcnlion 1o lhc -pc ilic conslru iion licrcin shonn nnd dcs-"rilrcd.

l 'lI-llliif l. lwozn liv lurnucc routaiuruining n pluralil ol' parallcl arch luhcs. in combination \v ilh 2: rcl' a lorv arch lhcrc in. comprising pinrnlil ol- .-l:il -lil 'c ricks ill'l'nllflltl ul inn1inllv in a r lnglc planc. snid :numi: i

confinc arch bring cooiprcssihlc Lransvcrscl ol' lhcv 1 apart transversely ofthc firebo firebox to accommodate itself to variations in width of the firebox due to changes of stantiallv half the thickness of the bricks of thc various strain of gases. v

\'\'lll0l) v' the bricks arc adapted to lie in a singlc plane. the cud hricksbcing movable from and toward the side sheets and when posit-ioncd in contact with the side sheet-s providing groorcs in tho uppcr surface of the arch hctvcccn their inner ends and the bod of tho ccntcr brick, and non-fusible nialcrial filling said grooves and permitting the side bricks to bc forced in\\'ardly toward the center bricks at times when the firebox contracts in width.

i :2. A locomotive lirchox containing a pinrality of arch tubes, in combination with 11 refractory arch supported by'said tubes and extending, from side shcct to side sheet, said urch comprising a plurality of lla t refractory members lying substantially inn single plane and arranged longitudinally inthe firebox. and consisting of a center portion and two side portions cach thereof being flat and thc thrccbcin; arranged in a, single planc. the inner cilgcs of the side portions ovcrlappin; the latcral edges of the middle portion and said overlapping: edges being m awav on thcir adjacent fncs whereby linarch is of substantially the same thickncss at those overlapped portions as in OlZllGI parts. arch supporting lugs curried by the sidc sliccts arranged to support the outer rllil'cs of said ouicr portions of the arch, mid onlci' portions of ihc arch being movillll' from and toward thc cntcr portion in lhc plane of thc arch and \vhcn placed in ouiact \viit-h thc sidc shccts of the lirchox f rming longiludinal groovcs in the upper [lic arch h-etvvccn the inner cnds oi lhc said p rtions and thc body of the middlc portion. and coznprcssiblc non-fusililc nialcrial in said grooves which pcrniits ihc sidc porlions to he forced toward the iniddlc portion at. tinic \rhcn thc lirchox contracts in width.

niolivc lioilcro omprising a plurality of i olhcr ond llic cll'cclivc lcnglh of Lhc row licinn' lrss than lho \vidih of thc lirchox. thcrcby pcrioittinir lhc luiclis to hc placed in posili n in tlu-ir normal planc und then sprcad between the side sheets, and non-fusible material between the adjacent ends of the bricks yieldingly maintaining the end bricks in contact with the side sheets.

4. In a refractoryv arch for locomotiveboilers, a transverse row of several slab-like bricks arranged in a single plane their ends overlapping, and said row extending from side sheet to side sheet, the. overlapped ends being formed to permit the longitudinal adjustment of the bricks to the dimensions of the firebox, means'for supporting said bricks in said position, and means for yieldingly maintaining the end bricks against the side sheets.

5. in a locomotive boiler firebox a refractory arch supported therein and extending from side sheet to side sheet, said arch be- CHARLES B. MOORE.

Vvitnesses EDWARD F. WILSON, CHAS. GILBERT HAWLEY. 

